UNC Greensboro 4, Stetson 1
RALEIGH, N.C. ? Sophomore Kristin Player and senior Mary Kate Towne each had a pair of goals to lift the UNC Greensboro women’s soccer team to a 4-1 win over Stetson in the opening game of the 2008 NC State/Residence Inn North Tournament.
The Spartans (3-2-0) out-played Stetson (0-3-0) in every aspect on Friday afternoon, leading the Hatters in shots by a total of 14-4. Eight of UNCG’s shots were on net while the Spartans defense was able to hold Stetson to just two shots on goal. Towne and Jenn Partenheimer led all Spartans with four shots a piece. Partenheimer placed three on net.
For Towne, this afternoon’s game was the second highest point total of her career. Her four points are second to her performance against Coastal Carolina on September 12, 2004 when she netted two goals and added and assist for five total points. This is the second two-goal game performance by Player. She netted two goals in the 4-1 win over Chattanooga on October 4, 2007.
Player gave the Spartans an early lead in just the second minute of play with her second goal of the season. Player lofted the ball over Stetson goalkeeper, Andrea Garavaglia, from 15 yards out to net the unassisted goal.
Towne got on the board 20 minutes later with her first goal of the season, sending her shot into the back of the net right in front of the goal mouth.
Kelly Attayek picked up the assist, her first of the year.
Stetson was able to pull within a goal late in the first half when Tessa Gavilsky took a through ball from Natalie Simon and sent the ball past UNCG keeper Barrie Vogel from 20 yards out.
It was Towne and Attayek who were at it again in the 58th minute of play as Towne one-timed a cross from Attayek, sending the ball into the upper left corner to give the Spartans a one goal advantage. It wasn’t more than five minutes later when Player struck with her second goal of the game to put UNCG up 4-1. The 2007 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year sent another ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out after the ball found its way to Players feet after a series of passes from Nicole Danford and Attayek.
UNCG will return to action on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm when they face Virginia Commonwealth to close out tournament play for both teams. It will be the first meeting of its kind between the Spartans and VCU.
College of Charleston 3, Richmond 0
Davidson, N.C. - Three first period goals, along with another solid performance by goalkeeper Erin Smith, paced the College of Charleston's women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Richmond on Friday afternoon at the adidas Davidson Soccer Tournament in Davidson, N.C.
With the win, the Cougars remain unbeaten at 5-0-0 to continue their best start in program history. Richmond falls to 3-1 with the loss.
"This was a huge win for us tonight against a great Richmond team," said head coach Kevin Dempsey. "But, more importantly, it was a team-win as everyone came in and contributed from the start. Our back line played outstanding tonight and Erin continued her great play in goal. It just feels great to be 5-0."
"We came out tonight with a lot of confidence and played extremely hard throughout the match, " said junior Christy Barrow. "We were also very consistent throughout the match. That has been the biggest difference between this year and last year, we're just playing more consistent and it is showing."
In the first half, the Cougars got off to a quick start when Barrow scored her third goal of the season in the 11th minute of the match off an assist from Megan Manthey. Manthey's assist was her third of the year.
"The goal I scored brought the confidence for the team up sky high," Barrow continued. "We all knew after the goal we had the game in our hands."
After a Richmond foul in the 24th minute, Manthey scored on a penalty kick to record her third goal in as many games to make the score 2-0.
The Cougars rounded out the scoring in the period in the 36th minute when Amanda Raymond scored, unassisted, to record her first goal of the season and make the score 3-0 going into halftime.
In the second half, Smith took center stage as she preserved the shutout making a total of ten saves. Smith earned a shutout despite the fact that Richmond fired 19 shots and out shot the Cougars by 10.
The Cougars conclude their play in the Davidson Tournament on Sunday when they take on Lehigh at 1:00 p.m. Richmond will take on host Davidson at 3:00 p.m.
Furman 2, Francis Marion 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Senior Rachel Fry scored in the 88th minute to propel Furman to a 2-1 victory over Francis Marion in the opening game of the 2008 Carolinas’ Cup Friday evening in Columbia, S.C.
Fry collected the ball on the right flank and beat Patriot keeper Emily Brandenburg at the 87:45 mark to notch the game-winning goal and improve Furman to 2-0-1 on the season.
After a scoreless first half, freshman Martha Hall put the Paladins on top in the 57th minute. The Knoxville, Tenn., native got on the end of a Sara El-Shami free kick and beat Brandenburg for her second goal of the season.
The Patriots answered in the 81st minute as Amanda Hall beat the Paladin defense down the left side to score the equalizer.
Furman managed a 20-5 edge in shots and 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Brandenburg stopped eight shots for Francis Marion while Furman’s Briana da Mota recorded three saves in the victory.
The Paladins return to action Sunday when they face host South Carolina at 12:30 p.m.
Samford 1, Mercer 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team opened the 2008 adidas Gamecock Classic with a 1-0 victory against the Mercer Bears on Friday at the JSU Soccer Field. The Bulldogs’ Shannon Healy scored the game-winning goal in the 35th minute of the first half.
“I didn’t think we played our best soccer, but we were able to fight and get a win,” said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. “We came out flat in the first half, but I guess that will happen when your travel bus doesn’t have any air conditioning on the way over. I challenged them at halftime and they came out and played a lot better in the second half.”
With the shutout victory, Samford (1-3) extended its undefeated streak against Mercer (1-3) to seven-straight matches. The Bulldogs’ last loss to the Bears occurred Oct. 23, 1997. Samford also improved its all-time record in the series to 6-1-1.
Mercer suffered its third scoreless defeat of the 2008 campaign. Prior to Friday’s loss, the Bears dropped matches to No. 18 Georgia 2-0 and Davidson 1-0, but recorded a 4-0 victory against Jackson State on Sunday.
“I was really impressed with how Mercer played and how hard they fought tonight,” Yelton said. “(Head coach) Grant (Serafy) has done an outstanding job with that program and now they are one of the more competitive teams in the Southeast. Honestly, we were lucky that they didn’t score a couple of goals on us tonight.”
During the 35th minute, Samford’s Healy scored the lone goal of the match.
On the scoring play, the Bulldogs sent a free kick from the right sideline deep into Mercer’s territory. A Bear defender headed it out to the middle of the field where Healy gathered it and then rifled a right-footer into the bottom left corner of the net from 20 yards out.
Healy, a true freshman midfielder from Crystal Beach, Fla., tallied her first collegiate goal on the play.
“Wow, Healy really got into that shot and found the far post and it was a great goal,” said Yelton. “It was awesome to see her score her first goal as a Bulldog and she was really excited. Hopefully, it will be the first of many to come.”
Samford’s senior goalkeeper Cayley Winters played all 90 minutes in goal for the Bulldogs and tallied her 16th-career shutout. She finished the game with three saves and earned her first shutout of 2008.
The Bulldogs outshot the Bears 10-7 and tallied one more corner kick to finish with a 6-5 advantage.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 1 p.m., as the Bulldogs square off against the Arkansas Lady’Backs at the JSU Soccer Field in Jacksonville, Ala.
Chattanooga 1, Austin Peay 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. --- Chattanooga’s D.K. Henry scored the first goal of her collegiate career to give the Lady Mocs their first win of the season defeating Austin Peay at Morgan Bros. Field 1-0 Friday night.
Henry, a freshman from Queens Village, N.Y., took advantage of a scoring opportunity in the 80th minute on an assist from sophomore Caroline DeRhodes. The goal was the first of the season for Chattanooga, boosting the Lady Mocs’ record to 1-2-1 overall.
Henry took six shots for Chattanooga with four on goal. Junior Marlee Jenkins took two shots for UTC, nabbing the only other on-goal shot for the Lady Mocs. Junior Chelsea Hurst added two more shots for Chattanooga who had 13 shots on the night with five on goal.
Chattanooga’s freshman keeper Allie Preston earned her second shutout of the year snaring six saves.
Austin Peay’s Elyse Lovelace matched Henry’s shots with six, but managed just two on goal. Jocelyn Murdoch also had two on goal in her only two shots taken while both Samantha Northrup and Kellie Cannon each had one shot on goal for the Lady Gov’s six of the game. Austin Peay falls to 1-3 on the year.
The Lady Mocs will continue their road stand with a Sunday afternoon matchup at Lipscomb in Nashville. The game will kick off at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
Western Carolina 1, Butler 0 (2OT)
CULLOWHEE, N.C.- Western Carolina women's soccer team scored a golden goal five minutes into the second overtime to give the Catamounts a thrilling 1-0 victory over the visiting Butler Bulldogs on Friday afternoon at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
The win for the Western Carolina Catamounts was its ninth extra session win all-time in its 10-year existence and fifth win in double overtime. The Cats improved to 1-2 on the season, and are now 7-3 in home openers all-time.
"We have been working on our attack all week long in practice and (Shannon) Fowkes was right where she needed to be and her timing was perfect," said head coach Tammy DeCesare.
Five minutes into the second over-time, freshman Jaycee Payton fired a shot that was stopped by goal keeper Laura Baker for Butler. However, the rebound took a fortuitous bounce to WCU junior Shannon Fowkes in front of the cage where she headed it on net. Baker made a leaping save inside the goal, as signaled by the linesman, to give the Catamounts the victory. The goal for Western was its first of the season.
The first half had many opportunities for both teams when four minutes into the contest Butler midfielder Molly Kruger had a shot that sailed high over the goal. Then, at the 32:00 minute mark, Catamount junior midfielder Nikki Lombardo had two chances inside the box with both shots being saved by Baker.
Another opportunity came later in the first half when on a direct kick just outside the box, Fowkes careened off the cross bar and the Butler defense was able to clear. The Catamounts ended the first half with a four to three lead in shots in the scoreless deadlock.
The second half remained a defensive battle between the two teams. But each side had their chance to erase the scoreless tie.
At the 21:00 minute mark Butler forward Carrie Twyman raced down the right side and tried to cross to her open teammate. However, the ball was just out of reach and bounced out of bounds ending the threat. Three minutes later for Western, freshman Jaycee Patton had an opportunity when she fired a shot on goal that was saved by Baker to preserve the 0-0 score.
"After we settled down, we played our best second half to date and our stamina in the overtimes was apparent, said coach DeCesare."
Western Carolina out shot the Bulldogs, 8-to-7, with only one shot being on goal from the Bulldogs. In the overtime sessions, the Catamounts had three shots while holding Butler off the stat sheet.
The Catamounts next match will be Sunday, Sept. 7 starting at 2:00 pm against the Belmont Bruins at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
Wofford 1, South Carolina State 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Wofford tallied a school-record tying 38 shots but only found the back of the net once as the Terriers tied South Carolina State, 1-1, in women's soccer action Friday evening at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
Wofford (0-3-2) kept pushing the offensive attack at the Lady Bulldog net, but S.C. State goalkeeper Alechia Brothers posted 18 saves and kept her team in the contest through the 110 minutes of action. The Lady Bulldogs played the final 45:39 down a player after she received her second yellow card within a minute, resulting in an automatic red card and ejection.
The Terriers used a goal at 77:32 by freshman Anne Phillips to knot the scoring. Phillips earned her first collegiate score and points on a free kick on the left side, which she placed inside the far post past Brothers.
South Carolina State (0-0-1) had jumped out to a 1-0 advantage at 9:42 when Kelsey Mims scored on a loose ball in front of the cage. Magaly Cerda set up the play with a free kick, which glanced off the crossbar and through keeper Katie McChesney's hands right to Mims' feet.
Wofford would extend its offensive effort in an attempt for the go-ahead tally. Junior Monica Ploetzke tied Heidi Best's school record for shots with 13, a mark the former All-Southern Conference player notched against College of Charleston Oct. 1, 1997.
The 38 shots by the Terriers matched the school mark set October 3, 1998, against Morehead State.
Five Wofford players garnered four shots apiece: Phillips, Sydney Reed, Maggie McLaughlin, Rachael Blackburn and Nikki Siebert.
The Terriers will return to action next weekend when they host the Academy Sports Shootout, featuring Presbyterian, Kennesaw State and Furman. Wofford will first face Presbyterian at 7 p.m. Friday before facing Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Citadel 2, Marshall 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel women’s soccer team tied Marshall 2-2 in 2OT in the Thundering Herd Nike Invitational at Sam Hood Field in Huntington, W.Va., Friday night.
The first half began quickly as Marshall took two shots within the first three minutes but freshman Laura Serafino saved both. It was a battle in offense and defense for both teams in the first 32 minutes. Then Marshall’s Erika Duncan scored the first goal giving the Thundering Herd a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
Marshall did not waste any time scoring in the second half as the Thundering Herd’s Missy Gordon scored the second goal in the first four minutes. The Bulldogs quickly respond as freshman Amy Loughran scored the first Citadel goal of the season, assisted by Dianna Martin. The Bulldogs remained fired up when freshman Nikkita Persaud tied the game with a goal assisted by Jessa Scott. The Citadel held on to the 2-2 game and went into double overtime. Neither team could come out with a winning goal leaving the score a draw.
The freshmen were key players in the late night game. Serafino created a career and season-high of 16 saves, first career tie and first career game playing all 110 minutes. Persaud and Loughran earned their first career and season goal each. Martin recorded her second career assist. Her last assist was during her freshman campaign against South Carolina State in 2006. Scott also earned her second career assist with her last in 2007 against USC-Upstate. Other key players in the game were Vivi Brown and Hannah Warne as they played their first 100-minute game this season.
Head Coach Bob Winch was very pleased with the Bulldogs. “I am very proud of the team’s effort. They really came together and hopefully this game will take us away in the season. Marshall is a good team and for us to come back from a 0-2 run is really great for our team.” This is also The Citadel’s second double overtime in team history dating back to 2001.
The Bulldogs are hoping to finish the Thundering Herd Nike Invitational with a win on Sunday, Sept. 7 against Mount St. Mary at 11:30 a.m. at Sam Hood Field.
Live stats for Sunday’s match will be available through www.CitadelSports.com. Game statistics and recap will be available online immediately following Sunday’s match. For more information on Bulldog Soccer or The Citadel Athletics, visit the official website of Bulldog Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
Davidson 2, Lehigh 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Freshman Stephanie Gerow's late second-half goal kept the Davidson women's soccer team's unbeaten streak alive to start the 2008 campaign as the Wildcats played to 2-2 tie in the second game of the Davidson Tournament against Lehigh on a rainy Friday evening at Alumni Stadium.
College of Charleston took a 3-0 decision against Richmond in the first game of the tournament.
Davidson ran its record 2-0-2 with the tie, while Lehigh moved to 1-1-1.
Tailing 2-1 with just under 14 minutes to go in regulation, Gerow came up with a tying goal by taking advantage of a couple deflections off two Lehigh defenders for her first collegiate score.
Davidson's junior Kyri Bye-Nagel, who scored the Wildcats'
first goal, tried to cross a ball from the right side into the box, but it was deflected by the Lehigh defense who was trying to clear it out of the six-yard box. Gerow came in uncontested to the top of the 18-yard box where the ball laid, gather it in and fired off a low-liner to the near side post past a diving Mountain Hawks' goalie to knot things up at two apiece.
Bye-Nagel, fresh off being named the Southern Conference's Player of the Week on Tuesday, got the Wildcats on the board first with her third score of the season in the first half. The junior forward picked up her second straight header goal in as many games when she gathered in a rebound shot taken by junior Lauren Conner (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and headed it into the far post for a 1-0 Davidson lead at the 17:21 mark.
Six minutes later, Lehigh countered with a header goal of its own as Ali MacLeod headed one in off the cross bar after the Mountain Hawks had thrown the ball in and Jana Basubas lifted a pass into the six-yard box.
Then after finishing out the first half tied at 1-all, Amy Mastromonaco gave Lehigh a 2-1 lead at the 59:56 mark when a Mountain Hawk corner kick was mishandled by goalie Christy Carry, who had the ball slip off her hands and Mastromonaco was there for the top-shelf goal.
Both teams had a couple of good looks in the two overtimes, but were never able to capitalize resulting in the 2-2 tie. Lehigh got off a combined four shots in both overtimes and had two corner kicks, while Davidson got off two shots in the first overtime. Overall, Davidson took 19 shots with seven of them going on goal.
Carry and Lehigh's Lauren Mains both played all 110 minutes as Carry recorded six saves compared to Mains five.
Davidson takes a day off before it finishes up its own tournament with a 3 p.m. game against Richmond on Sunday, Sept. 7. Lehigh will play in the first game on Sunday after College of Charleston at 1 p.m.
Tennessee Tech 1, Appalachian State 0
COOKEVILLE, TENN- The final ten seconds of the match proved to be the deciding factor for Appalachian State University women's soccer on Friday, as the Mountaineers dropped a heartbreaker to Tennessee Tech, falling 1-0, with the Golden Eagles' goal being scored at the 89:50 mark. With the loss, Appalachian falls to 0-1-1 on the season, whIle TTU improves to 1-3-0.
The Mountaineers were outshot in the first half of the match 3-1, despite taking the advantage in corner kicks, having two to Tennessee Tech's zero. Both the Apps and the Eagles headed into halftime remained tied at zero. ASU picked up its pace in the second half, as the offensive front launched seven shots. TTU also had a solid second
half as they notched eight shots in the final 45 minutes.
As it would turn out, with ten seconds to play, the Eagles' were successful on one of their attempts, as Katie Hoover scored unassisted at the 89:50 mark to give Tennessee Tech the win.
Caroline Lowe paced the Apps with shots on the afternoon, as she took four with
two on target, while Jordan Horvath, Amy Zahirski and Stephanie Balzano each had one shot apiece on target.
Defensively, Caroline Clarke played all 90 minutes in goal for the Black and Gold, making three saves.
Five yellow cards were issued in the match along with one red card. Freshman Lydis Sturgis and freshman Amber Hill both recieved the yellow cards, with junior Stephanie Balzano getting a yellow card at the 61 minute mark and then a red card at the 62:50 mark.
Appalachian looks to bounce back from its loss, as the Mountaineers host Gardner-Webb, Tuesday September 9 at 4 p.m. at the ASU Soccer Stadium at the State Farm Complex.